Method of making containers



March 15, 1949. E. NATHAN METHOD OF MAKING CONTAINERS Filed March 12, 1947 INVENTOR. ZZZVaf/Zazz ATTORNEY Patented Mar. 15,1949

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE METHOD OF MAKING CONTAINERS Emanuel Nathan, Maplewood, N. J. Application March 12, 1947, Serial No. 734,164

4 Claims. 1

This invention relates to improvements in the method of assembling containers.

The invention has particular reference to portable containers such as are used for carrying articles in clothing, for display purposes and for similar uses. It is highly desirable, from a cost and esthetic standpoint, to produce such containers from molded and analogous materials. It is desirable that such containers be provided with hinge means to enable the same to be readily opened and closed. It has been necessary, heretofore, to resort to costly special molds and assembly operations to apply hinge members to such container sections. The methods heretofore used were objectionable from the standpoint of the results attained, and increased time and cost involved.

Pursuant to the method of my invention, containers may be fabricated by the use of conventional plastic molds, the hinge elements being assembled thereon and permanently united thereto in a relatively simple, rapid, inexpensive, and uniformly accurate manner.

Embodiments of structures employing my invention are shown in the accompanying drawings and described in detail in the ensuing specification. These embodiments are merely by way of example; my invention is not limited thereto but includes all other forms which would come within the scope or purview of the appended claims.

Inthe drawings,

Fig. 1 is a plan view of a container embodying my invention, the container sections being shown in their open position after they are initially removed from the molds and before insertion of the hinge sections therein,

Fig. 2 is a plan view of a hinge member adapted to be secured to said container sections, pursuant to my invention,

Fig.3 is a vertical, sectional view thereof, taken on line 33 of Fig. 2,

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary, vertical, sectional view, taken on line 44 of Fig. 1, and showing fragmentarily, a tool member, which may be used in carrying out my invention, showing the hinge member initially positioned in the container sections,

Fig. -5 is a plan view, generally corresponding to that of Fig. 1, but showing the hinge members secured to the container sections in accordance with my invention,

Fig. 61s a fragmentary, vertical, sectional view, taken on line 66 of Fig. 5,

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary, perspective view of a modified formo'f container embodying my inven- 2 tion, showing the hinge member initially positioned therein,

Fig. 8 is a similar view, showing the hinge member sealed therein, and

Fig. 9 is a vertical, sectional view, taken on line 9-9 of Fig. 8.

In the drawings, there is shown a container comprising the sections In and II, to which a hinge member, such as, for example, the hinge I2, comprising the sections I3 and I4, is to be secured. In the particular form of hinge member illustrated in the drawings (by way of example only) each hinge section is bifurcated, and the hinge sections are secured together by a medial, axial pintle 22, and have attached thereto a clip spring member I5. The ends I3a, I la of the hinge sections are adapted to be positioned within the recesses I6 and I! in the container sections Ill and II, said container sections being provided with upstanding walls I8 and I9 projecting above said recess at right angles to the planes of the container sections Ill and I I. The container sections may, if desired, be provided with complementary aligning elements 20, 2| to facilitate opening and closing the same and to further limit movement of the container sections to a right angle open position.

The container sections, as above stated, are molded in standard molds to the form shown in Fig. 1, with the recesses I6 and I1 and the upstanding walls I 8 and I 9 projecting above said recesses. The hinge members are inserted in said recesses and then heating means are applied to the upstanding walls I8 and I9 momentarily to soften the same and the said walls are bent over at right angles upon the ends of the hinge I2 to lock the ends of the latter within the recesses I6 and H which are sealed by the operation described, as will be noted from an examination of Fig. 6. Any suitable means, such as a tool 23 electrically or otherwise heated, fragmentarily shown in Fig. 4 and movable in the direction of arrow 24, may be used for the purpose described, viz. to heat and bend the walls l8 and I9.

The method above described may be readily applied to containers formed of thermoplastic materials or of any other materials from which the container sections may be fabricated initially to the form shown in Fig. 1, with hinge receiving recesses and upstanding walls I8 and I9 and may thereafter be re-heated and re-softened to bend the walls I8, I9 over to close the recesses and lock the hinge section ends therein. The ends I3 a, Ila of the hinge sections may be angularly irected or out-turned to interlock with the bent over walls (Fig. 6).

To perform the operation described, I find it is necessary to only momentarily heat the upstanding walls l8 and Hi to re-soften the same; by the use of suitable tools the operation of heating the upstanding walls It and i9 and bending them over may be performed in an extremely short time and at low cost. The container sections are held in alignment and in (right angle) edge abutment with each other (Fig. 1) in a suitable holder during the operation of heating and bending over the upstanding walls 18 and I9 above described.

While I have shown a hinge l2 having bifurcated end portions for reception within pairs of recesses, the illustration in the drawings is for the purpose of showing one of many practical forms of my invention. It will be obvious that the invention is not limited to a hinge member of the precise form shown in the drawings nor of a hinge member having a spring 5 to permit the same to snap to either the position in which the container sections are at right angles to each other (Fig. 4) or to a closed position in which said container sections are parallel to each other (Fig. 6) nor to a container having two units of hinge members. The number of units may be greater or less than two, as required, the container sections being provided with corresponding recesses I6, I! and upstanding walls l8, l9.

Figs. 7-9 illustrate the application of the invention to a container provided with a single hinge member, said container having the sections 30 and 3|, the hinge member having the sections 33 and 34 for reception in recesses 36 and 31 in the container sections, said container sections having upstanding walls 38 and 39 formed in initially molding the container as shown in Fig. 7. The upstanding walls 38, 39 project above said recesses 36, 31 at right angles to the planes of the container sections 30, 3 L.

The hinge sections 33 and 34 are positioned within the recesses 36 and 37 in the container sections and the upstanding walls 38 and 39 are heated and bent over the ends of said hinge sections to seal said recesses and lock the ends of the hinge sections therein as shown in Fig. 8.

The container sections, pursuant to my invention, are initially fabricated with the recesses and upstanding walls projecting above the same. If they are removed from the molds in which they are. formed while sufiiciently semi-plastic to permit of bending the walls l8, 19, the hinge sections may be positioned in the recesses and the upstanding walls bent over the hinge sections to seal the recesses and lock the hinge sections therein by the use of a tool such as tool 24, without first re-heating the walls.

From the foregoing, it will be apparent to those skilled in the plastic arts that a novel method has been provided for the hinging of container sections. While it might be possible to initially mold the hinge members within the container sections as inserts, or otherwise, it will be obvious that the cost of molds specially designed to that end and the complexity thereof would make such operation prohibitive in point of cost and probably impractical in operation and in any event less desirable than the method and product herein described and claimed.

While I have described the use of the tool 23 moved in the direction of arrow 24 to bend over the heated or semi-plastic walls [8, [9, the use of tool 23 may be dispensed with in carrying out the invention, by holding the container sections in a position wherein, for example, their outer surfaces are disposed at about forty-five degree (e5) angles to the horizontal, it will not be necessary to bend the walls 18, I9 by using any tool -they will bend responsive to gravity to the desired position over the ends of the hinge sections, sealing the recesses.

It will be apparent from the foregoing that my invention enables fabrication of containers by a novel method and apparatus utilizing highspeed molds, assuring uniformity, precision and high speed of production.

While I have shown in the drawings and described .in the above specification, convenient forms of structures embodying my invention, it will be apparent from such disclosure that the invention is capable of many modifications without departing from the spirit and scope thereof, as set forth in the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. The method of making a container including hinged sections from a plurality of thermoplastic container sections, each of which is provided adjacent to one edge thereof with a complemental hinge receiving recess having an adjacent upstanding wall portion comprising supporting said container sections in juxtaposed position with the complemental recesses thereof arranged in predetermined relation, inserting the opposite, connected leaf sections of a hinge member into said complemental recesses respectively, heating said upstanding wall portions to soften same, and bending the softened wall portions into engagement with the respective leaf sections to secure the same within the respective recesses and to thereby hingedly connect said container sections.

2. The method of making a container including hinged sections from a hinge member, the leaf sections of which are provided with outturned ends, and a plurality of thermoplastic container sections each of which is provided adjacent to one edge thereof with a complemental hinge receiving recess having an adjacent upstanding wall portion comprising supporting said container sections in juxtaposed position with said edges in substantially parallel relation and with the complemental recesses thereof arranged in predetermined relation, inserting the opposite, outturned ends of connected leaf sections of the hinge member into said complemental recesses respectively, heating said upstanding wall portions to soften same, and bending the softened wall portions into interlocking engagement with the respective out-turned end portions of the leaf sections to secure the same within the respective recesses and to thereby hingedly connect said container sections.

3. The method of making a container including hinged sections from a hinge member, the leaf sections of which are provided with outturned ends, and a plurality of thermoplastic container sections each of which is provided adjacent to one edge thereof with a complemental hinge re ceiving recess having an adjacent upstanding wall portion comprising supporting said container sections in juxtaposed position with said edges in substantially parallel relation and with said sec-. tions lying in planes substantially. at rightangles with each other with the complemental recesses thereof arranged in predetermined relation, in-

serting the opposite, out-turned ends of connected leaf sections of the hinge member into said complemental recesses respectively, heating said upstanding wall portions to soften same, and bending simultaneously the softened wall portions into interlocking engagement with the respective outturned end portions of the leaf sections to secure the same within the respective recesses and to thereby hingedly connect said container sections.

4. The method of making a container including hinged sections from a plurality of theremo- Y 6 ing wall portions of said recesses to soften same and concurrently applying bending forces to said softened Wall portions operating in a direction toward said hinge to bend the softened wall portions into engagement with the respective leaf sections to secure the same Within the respective recesses and to thereby hingedly connect said container sections.

EMANUEL NATHAN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,122,280 Kempshall Dec. 29, 1914 2,041,518 Salz May 19, 1936 2,126,049 Shiffman et a1 Aug. 9, 1938 2,126,050 Shiffman et a1 Aug. 9, 1938 2,318,608 I-Iem'pel May 11, 1943 2,335,296 Miller Nov. 30, 1943 2,393,486 Storch Jan. 22, 1946 

